Do surgeons drink caffeine or take other stimulants on days when they will be performing surgery?
You can check the answer of the people under the question at Quora “can i drink coffee before surgery“
Do surgeons drink caffeine or take other stimulants on days when they will be performing surgery?
You can check the answer of the people under the question at Quora “can i drink coffee before surgery“
Well, it depends. Take “other stimulants” probably no. Drink coffee? If a person is used to drinking coffee, then s/he will probably drink some on the day of surgery. But also remember that we have to stand in the OR for hours at a time, with no bathroom breaks likely, so most of us avoid large amounts of liquids and caffeine (which is dehydrating and makes you urinate more) for that reason.
The surgeon has to know himself.
I usually start the day with a mug of coffee. When I do surgery, I only drink 1/3 of a cup. If I skipped it altogether, I might flag for energy or even get a migraine. On the other hand, if I drank a whole mug, my hands wouldn’t be as steady.
I once had an exceptional and talented resident in ophthalmology. He had great knowledge and surgical judgment. Except every time he assisted me, he had a small hand tremor. This had the potential to wreck his career. We talked about this and he admitted he felt nervous in the OR with me. But he didn’t seem that nervous when we scrubbed together before each case, so I wondered whether the tremor made him nervous, not vice-versa. Finally, I learned the basis of the problem. This guy got up at 5am every morning and spent an hour lifting weights. I suggested he skip this on our Thursdays when we did surgery. From then on, his small tremor was gone. And, of course, it’s common knowledge that heavy exercise leads to several hours of fine tremors.
By the way, he went on to an illustrious career, evidencing outstanding surgical skills.
Too much caffeine causes a fine tremor and palpitations
Not enough caffeine associated with Surgeon torpor so coffee is available in the OR lounge.
Caffeine works and provides the necessary stimulus to stay alert during complex surgical tasks.. Another source of mental stimulation though seems more important to me as a surgeon.. When faced with challenging situations during Surgery our body releases cortisol which is a part of the natural fight or flight stress response.. This endogenous cortisol I think is more important than caffeine for keeping us alert when performing surgery